I've been playing in the dirt for years, but I'm still fairly new to the 'Jeep thing'. In the past I've had only 1 samurai that was set up as a hardcore crawler. lockers, chromoly shafts, 33s (that look massive on a samurai), a VW TDI diesel, doubler, toyota steering, YJ leaf springs, etc... the works. It was an amazingly capable little rig except I started finding a few problems, the biggest it was just terrible over long distances, even compared to a stock samurai. Also, it was by leaps and bounds the most capable vehicle in the group. my buddies were winching and I was in 2wd still. they're on 29's, stock drivetrain and a 1.5" lift. but the frustrating thing was THEY fit the UTV trails and I didn't... Up here in Northern Utah, the most technical trails are starting to turn into SxS trails because larger vehicles aren't driving through them anymore. something the size of a UTV or near it fits way better through them now so I sold the lifted monster and am working on another samurai that matches theirs.
But I also like to overland. Can you imagine packing a weeks worth of food, junk, 2 people and a 20 pound dog into something that is able to fit through a 60" trail gate and has an 80 inch wheelbase? Its tough. Can be done, but its tough. So in addition to the Sammi, I'm looking to build out a TJ and start playing with that for the long trips.
So what I'm starting with:
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I just picked up this 2004 TJ rubicon with the 4.0 and the nv3550. Right off the bat, first things I've done are replace the soft top as the back window was torn, and the rear pinion bearings were junk. Took it to a local shop to have them redone as the ring and pinion had some spalling. I hate setting up gears and really didn't want to play that game while rolling around on the floor. Next on the list is getting rid of the 33s. They just don't fit. The long term plan is to get it set up to fully clear some 285/75R16 tires on some factory Moab rims with the sway bar disconnected. But for now, I have installed some stock sized Falken Rubitrek tires and some Moab rims.
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Some other mods that will be happening in no particular order:
Sway bar disconnects
a winch
bedlined floor and full carpet removal (love it in the samurai)
Lighting upgrades - Toyota lights, some decent LED light pods
Gobi roof rack - Maybe... Might build a custom one.
Rear cargo rack and back seat delete
a stereo that sounds decent would be nice
new fender flares - will probably be changed again later so cheapo aftermarket units for now.
The idea is to build something that is capable enough for 90% of trails near me and keep it as tame and reliable as possible for my daily driver. no gimmicks, no frills, just function over form. reliability is king for what I want to do, and I'm not wanting to dump (more) buckets of money into this build. So fixing the obvious issues, fufilling the known needs, and then driving the hell out of it.
